41. Syracuse - Part 1. Baroque

I am so sorry to admit I got it wrong Syracuse is yet another Baroque City. Yes, more Baroque. I know some will be pleased (Mike Dover, Jacqui). Sicily is the heart of Baroque Architecture and where i gathered it originated. Some of the cities have carefully managed their heritage and then been rewarded by plaudits such as acclaimed a UNESCO site. Others have sadly let these beautiful buildings just decay. There is some hope, as in some cities you can see a dramatic amount of renovation work. Perhaps Palermo may learn from this.

Syracuse has much to offer and even a week would not be enough time to savour all that it can provide whether it is Baroque, Restaurants, Market and Street Food etc.

I have divided Syracuse into 4 seperate sections, 1.Baroque, 2. Palazzo Borgia, 3. Market and then 4. Night life.

Do try and view the photos on a computer or zoom into them. There is some high detail. There maybe some interesting details you may miss otherwise. I will suggest you Zoom on some particular photos.

The Fort at the entrance to the Grand Bay

Anyway we arrived fairly late at Syracuse and dropped anchor in the Grand Bay. It is all quite controlled as you must inform the harbour master that you wish to anchor and he gives you coordinates where you should go. As we approached the anchorage we were met by a large boom boom boom beat, coming from somewhere which we originally thought came from the mainland but on closer observation we saw it was from a boat quite close by. It was a pop music boat with the deep base providing the boom which penetrated the whole bay. Dancing and disco jockey all provided. Pizza smell wafting over. My initial concern was there seemed to be too many people gyrating on the top deck and if they all leaned to much to one side the boat might capsize! It went on till 10 pm that night but it was the weekend. The next day, Sunday we noted it arrived again with the wafts of pizza smell floating across the water and the incessant boom boom again and this was 12 midday. I suddenly thought that if any of the paying customers had enough of the boom boom at any time it was tough luck, as they had to wait till 10 pm at night to get off. I could only imagine this as torture especially if you had enough after a few hours. The only hope would be to swim ashore and it was a long way.

The music boat

That night we saw this monster slip it's mooring ropes and head out to sea. It was blocking half the view of the old town! It was paraded by the disco club with music and lights appropriate for the goodbye. I have to admit, grudgingly, it does have some spectacular sparkle about it at night but I doubt I would ever want to cruise in one. To me cruising is small and personal.

Cruise Liner lit up at night as it leaves Syracuse

One of the Gates to the original old town of Syracuse called Ortigia.

Starting to walk the old streets of Ortigia

The Duomo, Syracuse's 7th Century Cathedral. (worth a zoom)

It is often impossible to photograph or describe what you view as something quite astounding but the Duomo left a significant impression on both of us. It was perhaps the most wonderous church I have been in for many a year. There was not the complete covering of paintings or murals like most Italian churches but instead there was a rough edge to this church which gave it some simplicity and age.